David Newheiser

001: Trump Year One: The War on Civil Rights - w/ Anthea Butler Podcast Episode · Reign of Error with Sarah Posner · 01/22/2026 · 44m

The first episode of Reign of Error is here! Trump Year One: The War on Civil Rights, with @antheabutler.bsky.social. Give it a listen and spread the word!

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/0...

Large brick wall with a tiny white signat the base of the wall that says "Slavery was real"

"Slavery was real"

Tiny sign at the base of a brick wall that, until yesterday, held panels about the people enslaved by George Washington.

Presidents House, Philadelphia.

It was beautiful to be with the best of Tallahassee today, protesting at the Florida Capitol. The vibes were good, but the anger is fierce.

It was beautiful to be with the best of Tallahassee today, protesting at the Florida Capitol. The vibes were good, but the anger is fierce.

the way to tell whether a person is credible is by *listening to what they say* and checking it against verifiable facts. The idea that you can bypass this with some value-neutral procedure is asinine if you think about it for two seconds and also the guiding ideology of 99% of American elites.

There is Power in Negative Political Theology | Political Theology Network Negativity cuts against a politics of nostalgia (which seeks to conserve the imagined glories of the past) and apocalypse (which rejects the world as irredeemably compromised)…

I have a new piece out in the Political Theology Network: "There is Power in Negative Political Theology."

It's the first piece in a symposium on Critical Political Theology, together with King-Ho Leung and Jenny Leith. You can find it here!

politicaltheology.com/there-is-pow...

I’m excited to see this in print! The first fruits of a very profitable stay at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. Many thanks to them. I also have learned much from @dnewheiser.bsky.social whose careful probing of certain modes of speech has refined my own thought. Thank you!

Some important new government policy that Native Americans might be interested in:

Here's a link to the piece: doi.org/10.25784/JEA...

The Journal of Ethics in Antiquity and Christianity has just published my dialogue with Morwenna Ludlow @morwennaexe.bsky.social on peaceful speech and political conflict. Since calls for civility are often weaponized, it was a gift to think this through with someone from whom I have learned so much

I'm BACK on New Books in Secularism, @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social, joined by @dnewheiser.bsky.social to talk about his book "Art-Making as Spiritual Practice: Rituals of Embodied Understanding" (Bloomsbury, 2025). Listen here: newbooksnetwork.com/art-making-a...

once again i'm googling "is 'sanction' good or bad"

Health Authorities Issue Measles Alert at Creationist Museum In 2025, the U.S. had the most infections of the vaccine-preventable disease since 1992.

Measles may have been spread at a Noah’s Ark-themed creationist museum in Kentucky earlier this week, the state’s health authority said.

misty Tallahassee morning

misty Tallahassee morning

Christmas light

Accurate. I haven't heard *one single* pitch for "AI" in education that isn't one of these three: 1) It's inevitable so hop on board; 2) Employers want to know prospectives can use it; 3) We must stop it from hurting our students by training them in it. None promise better educational outcomes.

Christmas light

"In Covid's Wake" Part 1: Lyin… - If Books Could Kill - Apple Podcasts Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · 06/17/2025 · 58m

Everyone involved in the publication and promotion of this book should be embarrassed. It's not a "harsh truth" that COVID mitigation was a mistake, it's ghoulish and false.

Spirits of Empire The Declaration of Independence depicted Native Americans as bloodthirsty savages, and from its founding the United States aimed to expand westward by seizin...

My new book is now available for pre-order from UNC Press @uncpress.bsky.social! Use code 01SOCIAL30 at checkout to save 30%. uncpress.org/978146969362...

Danforth Center on Religion and Politics Announces New Postdoctoral Fellowship Search - John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics

Applications for the postdoc at the @ctrrelpol-washu.bsky.social are due by January 5, 2026.

Superboy struggles under the weight of a large stamp that reads “notice of foreclosure.” In the background Ma and Pa Kent stand solemnly embracing in front of their farm; in the foreground a mailbox overflows with envelopes.

sign of the times: epic cover to this week’s Action Comics #1093 - the bank forecloses on the Kent farm

"there's a new serif in town"

1 year VAP in Religion at Hamilton College to teach courses "on religions in the Americas, with a focus on religion and politics." Special interest in research "on the intersections of religion and postcolonialism and/or decolonization movements."

Deadline 1/12/26

apply.interfolio.com/177313

That's a lot of snails. 😳

If you're thinking of doing a graduate degree in Religion, consider FSU!

With 23 full-time faculty, we welcome students in a wide range of topics and traditions - including funding for both MA & PhD programs. It's a great department, with strong support from the university.

If you're thinking of doing a graduate degree in Religion, consider FSU!

With 23 full-time faculty, we welcome students in a wide range of topics and traditions - including funding for both MA & PhD programs. It's a great department, with strong support from the university.

Of all the challenges facing higher education, “too many kids getting extra time on tests” is at the bottom of the priorities list, right down there with “is there still be a budget code for fax machine related supplies?”

Maybe focus on affordable tuition, academic freedom, contingent labor rights?

My first German-language publication has just appeared! It's the first piece pertaining to my current book project, on miracles and democratic imagination:

"Die Genealogie der Wunder. Bedeutung und materielle Praxis," out now in Hermeneutische Blätter. (link below)